Chicken Biryani - Kerala style

I love chicken with any thing and Biryani makes me too much happy. My mother-in-law makes the best biryani, with all the fried onions in it.
This time I tried making the same, using chicken biryani masala( which my MIL do not use, but she suggested it to me).
It was not even close to what I like, as I think its the magic of my MIL's hand. But the dish was good enough for the first time make. I think I will improve with time. . .

Hope you all like my make, and may your hands essence will make the dish perfect for you and your family...

here goes the recipe:
Ingredients:-
500 gms Chicken - small pieces
500 gms Basmati rice ( or you can use plain long grain rice, it will taste different though)
2 tbsp Chicken masala
2 small Onions - one for the paste and other chopped finely
2 Big onions - for making fried onions - Sliced finely
2 tbsp ginger - garlic paste
3-4 green chillies
1 big tomato
Coriander leaves, curry leaves, mint leaves - some of each
5 tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter)
Oil for frying onions
Cashew and kishmish - some
Salt as per taste

In a pan, Heat Oil. Then put all the sliced Onions in it for frying. Make sure the Oil should be enough to cover alteast 3/4 of the onions . Onions will shrink in size while frying. Fry the onions till golden brown, try not to burn( It happens though). Drain on to a kitchen paper so as to remove the excess oil. Keep aside. Fry some Cashew and kishmish also.

Wash the rice and soak it in cold water for about 15 mintues. Meanwhile you can keep the water to boil for making rice. When the water is boiled, add salt and the soaked rice and let it cook fully. Drain the water and keep it aside(better spread the drained rice in a big flat plate so that the grains of rice will seperate from each other and we can have a nice Biryani).
P.S. - I put some turmeric and some coriander powder in the boiling water to enhance the taste of the rice of Biryani. Try it if you feel so.

Make a paste of the one onion and green chillies and add ginger garlic paste to this. Now in another big pan(for cooking the chicken masala), add the Ghee(clarified butter) and let it heat up. Add the coriander leaves, mint leaves and curry leaves. Now add the chopped onion in it. When the onions are transparent add the above paste of onion, chillies, garlic and ginger to this. Let it cook well for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and cook well till the masala loses oil. At this time add the chicken masala and some red chilly powder if you want ur biryani to be a bit hot. Red chilly powder is optional. Now add the chicken pieces and cook till chicken is done. Add some water if needed.

Now when the chicken is cooked, the rice is done and the fryed onions and nuts are ready, In a big vessel spread a layer of rice and then on top of it spread some chicken masala we prepared. Now add some fried onions on it and then again layer with Rice. Fill your vessel in similar way. Make sure you keep some fried onions for the top. When the layering is done, spread the kept Fried onions on the top and then spread the cashew and kishmish also.

Now put this vessel in microwave with a cover on it for 10-15 minutes. And your Biryani is ready to be served. . .
Serve the Biryani with dahi boondi raita( recipe in the blog) or plain veg raita. . .

Enjoy eating....